“This outbreak is about unvaccinated children, not specific communities. Unfortunately, the Minnesota Somali community has been targeted with misinformation about vaccine risks. We’re partnering with Somali community leaders and health care providers to counteract that misinformation,” MDH Commissioner Dr. Ed Ehlinger said in a statement released on April 14, one day after the first cases of measles were publicly reported.

“The best way to prevent measles is for all children to be fully vaccinated on time. There are two combination vaccines used to prevent measles: measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and measles-mumps-rubella-varicella (MMRV) vaccine,” the MDH website states.